Notes

Big Idea:  Peace is from God for you!

What we learn from Joseph:  'He decided to NOT make his life about him!'

What we learn about peace from the story of Joseph:

A.  God's PEACE comes from walking God’s path!

God will give us what we need to keep us on His Path so we can have His Peace!

God reminded Joseph of who He was.
God reminded Joseph of HIS plan!
Don’t be afraid to change your mind!

B.  God’s PEACE enables you to TRUST His plan for your path!

Verses

{This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. Matthew 1:18-25 NLT}{But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 NLT}{He will be our peace. Micah 5:5 NLT}

Quotes

N.T. Wright : Christmas has become cozy. Advent calls us to stay awake. (); C.S. Lewis : God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. (Mere Christianity); Justin Buzzard : Your life would actually be a lot better if your life could become less about your life. If you could see that your life is part of a larger plot than simply "the story of me" – then adventure, mystery, and joy would reenter the picture. Most of the stuck-ness in our lives is a product of an over focus on our lives. We spend so much time looking in, when we ought to be looking out and up. (The Big Story); Mufasa : [Simba] You are more than what you have become. (The Lion King); Louie Giglio : Life is the tale of two stories – one finite and frail, the other eternal and enduring. The tiny one – the story of us – is brief as the blink of an eye. Yet somehow our infatuation with our own little story – and our determination to make it as big as we possibly can – blinds us to the massive God Story that surrounds us on every side. (i am not but i know I AM); Louie Giglio : We can choose to cling to starring roles in the little-bitty stories of us, or we can exchange our fleeting moment in the spotlight for a supporting role in the eternally beautiful epic that is the Story of God. (i am not but i know I AM); Tim Keller : Do you believe that this beautiful idea of the Incarnation – Immanuel, God with us – will really happen? If you believe Him, and if you will take Jesus into the center of your life, you will be blessed, utterly transformed by His life-changing peace, His shalom. (Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus: Experiencing the Peace and Promise of Christmas);